Only slice my driver.

Man I don't know what it is. I have upgraded to a nike sasquatch 9.5 loft stiff shaft 42" (fits me perfectly) but still have the same slice I've had a problem with. Now I know that a new club won't fix the problem but I wanted to provide as much information as possible to you guys. I'm not sure about my back swing sometimes is feels like it's not wide enough but if I try to take it wider it feels so uncomfortable and I don't make good contact with the ball. I don't come over the top, but still have a slice to my drives. Every other club I hit perfectly, 3 wood, 5 wood, 3-lob wedge. I can hit those clubs beautifly, and have what I would consider an average to above average short game. I feel that if I could just control this slice with my driver I would shoot a lot lower. I average anywhere from 14-18 putts per nine holes because there is a par 3 course near my house that lets you practice the putting green for free so I go there very often to practice my short game. My slice isn't horrific and I can control it but there's always it seems like 1 hole per round that I just hit it into the other fairway. I don't want to play to my slice and aim more left to hit the fairway, I want to be able to fix this problem and hit the ball straight more often than not with my big stick. I am relatively small for my age of 16, I'm 5'6-5'7 only aboud 120 lbs due to crones disease (spelling ) which is a disease that causes me to grow slower than other people at my age so when im about 18-20 i will have stopped growing while other ppl my age will stop growing around 16-18 years of age. Any drills or tips or anything you guys can come up with would be great, and very much appreciated. Again I am not looking for more yardage, but just fixing this annoying slice. I am also right handed incase I didn't provide enough information to imply that. Thanks again for all of your help.

what is your swing speed? some people slice because they have too stiff a shaft and they are too manly to get a regular even though it would allow them to hit much better.

trying to make your arc too wide could cause you to pull your head which can throw you off allignment, so carfull with that.

maybe you are tryng too hard with you driver..... don't forget you still want a loose grip and loose arms. you should naturally square the face if you are loose enough.

a dril maybe.... try to tuck a towel or glove under your left armit to help you stay connected through out your swing.

most importantly for me was the right hand drill and impact drill.... not only will doing this propery give you alot more distance, but it will give you laser accuracy. RHD website http://members.cox.net/gregjwillis/LESSON1.htm
don't fan the club open at addres, let your first move back be a right hand cup. (read post on hand shake drill to learn difference between cup and cock

and maybe your tempo could me off, idont' speed your tempo up with driver to try to get more distance, keep it the same.


all it can think of hope one of them helps

Thanks so much for your help. I don't know if the stiff shaft is the problem, but theres not much i can do about it because my buddy sold me this one. My swing speed isnt taht great ive never measured it though. Im going to try those drills you suggested thank you very much for help.

Anyone else who wants to help please step foward im looking for all the help i can get lol.

thanks again

i was a happy hooker until I changed to a stiff shaft, now I fade a fair bit. I do think it's your stiff shaft that is causing the slice ESP if you dont slice with your other clubs. U playing graphite with your irons? good luck

I have steel shafts with my irons, and my last driver had a steel shaft and was more stiff than the sasqautch i play now. It may be the shaft, but i get a fair amount of flex with the stiff shaft and idk i just think the regular flex would be too flexible.

Excerpt from Golf magazine.

There are two types of slice: The pull-slice and the push-slice. The pull-slice starts to the left of the target and curves back to the right. The push-slice starts right and continues curving even farther in that direction. The common denominator is an open clubface at impact, which imparts the side-spin that causes the ball to curve from left-to-right. The difference between them is the path of the clubhead on the downswing.

The pull-slice is the product of an outside-in downswing path coupled with the open face at impact; the ball flight usually is low and hard. The push-slicer swings the club down on a correct, slightly inside path, but has a wide open clubface at impact.

Cause And Cure
If you push-slice, first figure out why the clubface isn't square to the ball at impact. The most common cause is a failure to release the hands through the hitting zone. With proper hand action, the right hand should gradually roll over the left through impact, causing the toe of the club to pass the heel as it strikes the ball. This produces the counterclockwise sidespin, causing a draw. A correct release is the natural result of a good grip and arm action and shouldn't happen consciously.

Restricting the release of the hands through the hitting zone is commonly called "blocking." Blocking usually is caused by gripping the club too tightly, producing a tenseness in the wrists and forearms that prohibits the natural rolling action.

If you suspect that you're blocking, try this test:

Take a 5-iron and make a half-swing from no higher than the hips on the backswing to hip-height on the follow-through. Hold your position at the end of the follow-through. Check the clubhead: If the toe points to the sky, your hand action is good; you're releasing properly. But if it points to the right, then you are indeed guilty of blocking.

To remedy this condition, lighten your grip pressure and relax your arms. To get the feel of correct hand action through the hitting zone, try the "Beat the Block" drill below.

If blocking isn't your problem, check your grip position. Too weak a grip won't allow you to square the clubface in time. Strengthen it gradually, until your shots fly straight, but don't let the Vs formed by the thumb and forefinger of either hand point past your right shoulder.

Another cause of push-slicing is playing the ball too far back in the stance. This results in contact before the clubface has had time to square up. Try moving the ball farther forward, experimenting with different positions until your shots start curving slightly from right to left in a draw.

Thanks for all your help guys, I'm going to the range today and I want to hit a bunch of balls with all my clubs so I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I suffer the same problem. A ball that bends right when I step up to it with my feet square.

My solution is twofold:

I stagger my feet, so that my trailing foot is halfway back of my lead foot (ie the toes of my trailing foot stop at the arch of my lead foot). I also let the clubface close at address. In other words, it points to the hook side of target. These two things make it so that I hit a straight ball with a tiny bend (5 yards) to it, give or take, either way (left and right). For a fade, I simply set my feet a little closer to parallel (toes of trail at ball of lead). I get about a 15 yard bend for that.

Just a thought - it works for me. If I setup with my feet parallel, my ball goes straight for about 70 yards, then bends hard to the right - usually OB.

__________________
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PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Thanks for all of your help guys, I went to the range today and was blasting my sasqautch 230-240 (good distance for a small guy like me lol) straight down the middle after a few warm up shots. It seemed that I was swinging too hard because if I slowed my take away and took a nice easy down swing and follow through I'd get the same distance but much more accuracy, hopefully I have solved this problem, and it won't come back. I went to a golf shop and they let me try the same club I had except a regular shaft and it didn't feel right it seems like the club shaft was too like rubbery almost, and I didn't feel comfortable like I do with the stiff shaft on the SQ. Thanks again for all of your input you guys on this site really are a great help. Thanks again and happy golfing.

good to hear. yes it is very important to know that you can't hit the ball form the top so why try. swing smooth and start slow from the top and accerate through the ball. you don't wanna waste all that speed at the top and then have nothing left at impact, you want opposite that.

I play golf with a man from time to time who has Crohn's Disease. I will say this. He is slightly taller and heavier than you, but not by much. Everything he plays is fit for him, and everything is regular flex.

Now, even with that said, some people prefer the feel of stiff. There is a big difference between stiff and tour stiff. If you like the feel, then go for it bro. If you can get yourself coming down from the inside and keep yourself from coming over the top, you will hit it straight.

I would say the keys for you will be.....

1) Loading and creating coil on the right side. Look at Camilo Villegas. Like 5'10" and 150lbs. Hits the ball 309 on average. Now, he is in AMAZING shape. He has very strong forearms and biceps. His backswing isnt huge, but he creates a tight coil and unloads with a ton of force.

2) Tempo. You dont have to swing "hard" to hit it long. Start at what feels like 70% effort and work your way up slowly over a long period of time. When you get consistent at 70%, bump it up a notch to 75%. Too many people go all out all the time. Do you know anyone who can lay up with a driver? I know some short par 4s with trouble I could use that play on, when you need more than a 3 wood but not quite a full drive.

Keep working at it. It amazing that over time, with proper practice, that you hit the ball longer with less effort!

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

Yeah I just didn't like the reg flex feel. I tried it out at a pro shop and I gotta say that I like the feel of the stiff shaft on my sasqautch more. I'm going to keep working at it, I have one of those nets that you can hit balls into so I'm going to work with that and just making clean solid contact. Practice makes perfect right.

true, but practice the wrong way can ingrain bad habits... carfulle when practicing in a net, it can look good, as such short distances but in real life hook/slice.

I agree with above. Nets are not that great. Hard to tell between bad and good shots. If you use a net, make sure to use impact tape and see where you are making contact.

I have a impact bag. I like that a lot. It shows me where I am at the most critical point in the swing.

I like to work on my moves in slow motion without hitting a ball. Like my footwork or 1st move from the top.

Yeah I might not have to go down that road though because today I went to the range again with my brother and was smashing it straight down the middle, so I think maybe my problem was in my head or I don't know because I hit the ball very great.